Amazon RDS vs Google Cloud SQL comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google are both solutions in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3, while Google is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.8. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 25.0% mindshare in DS, compared to Google’s 16.5% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Google users who would recommend it.

Amazon RDS

Read 54 Amazon RDS reviews

5,264 Views
4,374 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Google Cloud SQL

Read 22 Google Cloud SQL reviews

3,161 Views
2,874 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Amazon RDS

Google Cloud SQL

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Amazon RDS and Google Cloud SQL compete in the managed database services category. Amazon RDS appears to have the upper hand due to its deployment agility and extensive feature set, though Google Cloud SQL offers more competitive pricing within Google's ecosystem.

Features: Amazon RDS provides automated backups, multi-availability zone resilience, and supports multiple database engines such as MySQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL, simplifying deployment and scalability. Google Cloud SQL features high availability, seamless integration with Google services, and automatic scaling, although it lacks the diverse database support offered by RDS.

Room for Improvement: Amazon RDS could improve in areas like migration processes, shell access for experienced DBAs, and its pricing structure that requires careful cost provisioning. Google Cloud SQL can enhance its user interface, documentation, and connectivity with additional tools, while also improving support for data migration and advanced configuration options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Amazon RDS and Google Cloud SQL are public cloud solutions, with Amazon RDS offering stronger hybrid and on-premises support. Customer service varies for both, influenced by the purchased support level, though Amazon is often noted for additional costs associated with comprehensive support.

Pricing and ROI: Amazon RDS tends to cost more due to its extensive capabilities, requiring careful management to avoid unexpected charges. It provides value by reducing operational overhead. Google Cloud SQL is more budget-friendly, with straightforward and lower base costs, appealing to those who prioritize cost over features. Each solution's ROI differs based on organizational needs and existing tech stacks.

To learn more, read our detailed Amazon RDS vs. Google Cloud SQL Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Amazon RDS vs. Google Cloud SQL

April 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Amazon RDS

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Google Cloud SQL

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Amazon RDS is 25.0%, down from 27.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Cloud SQL is 16.5%, down from 18.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Featured Reviews

Samuel Ebite

AICE Graduate at alx_africa

Ensure high availability with robust encryption and seamless backups

Amazon RDS provides data encryption using services like KMS, crucial for securing high-sensitive data and meeting compliance requirements such as HIPAA or PCI DSS. The best practices we've employed with RDS help design a well-architected framework, encompassing security, encryption, scalability with multi-availability zone deployment, and operational excellence with automated backups. RDS features, such as reserved instances, storage auto-scaling, monitoring with technologies like CloudWatch, and proxies, contribute to cost optimization. The solution enhances security with IAM authentication and offers high availability to end users.

Read full review

Prathap Sankar

Analytics Delivery Manager at Tredence Inc.

Gain control and flexibility with customizable tools but has slower performance

I am majorly working in Google Cloud SQL for building my applications Google Cloud SQL provides complete customization options, along with a dashboarding tool and a comprehensive suite of tools that can be used to customize and build any application needed. The deployment model allows for…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The solution is scalable and can be configured with AWS Secrets Manager."

"I use Amazon RDS to support scalability, with multi-AZ support being an essential aspect."

"Relational databases excel in extensive normalization, eliminating data redundancy and efficiently structuring tables which leads to a clear and efficient relationship between tables using primary keys."

"It is easy to use, flexible, and powerful."

"The Amazon RDS features I found most valuable are snapshots and automatic backups."

"Amazon RDS makes it easier for me to manage databases compared to traditional databases like MongoDB or local host servers."

"Amazon RDS handles database backup mechanisms and patch management."

"The most valuable aspect of Amazon RDS is it is on the cloud."

More Amazon RDS pros

"My suggestion to anyone thinking about this solution is to jump into it head-first!"

"The deployment model allows for significant control and flexibility."

"It is not the cool features that I find valuable, it is the stability of Google Cloud Platform."

"The setup was straightforward. Just a couple of clicks, and we were done."

"Google Cloud SQL provides complete customization options, along with a dashboarding tool and a comprehensive suite of tools that can be used to customize and build any application needed."

"It's SQL. SQL is so easy if you know something about databases. It's easy to learn."

"The solution is easy to use. I am impressed with the tool's features and functionality."

"The most valuable feature for us is the Postgres on Google Cloud SQL since it supports most of the features we need."

More Google Cloud SQL pros

Cons

"The running cost could be improved."

"Amazon cannot guarantee the stability of some extensions, and there is a need for different extensions to meet PCI requirements."

"I also don't think it's very scalable."

"With my limited experience, I have noticed that documentation management could be improved. It could be better."

"Amazon cannot guarantee the stability of some extensions, and there is a need for different extensions to meet PCI requirements."

"It would be better if it integrated seamlessly with Microsoft products. Our clients use the Microsoft Tally application server. We already tried to create a reputation from, for example, an on-premises environment from our client to Amazon RDS using Microsoft Tally server, and we couldn't do that because we didn't have a strong user in RDS. We couldn't create a reputation from an on-premises environment from the Microsoft Tally server to RDS. I think that it would be a good implementation, and it would help us with this case."

"There are a few aspects of database management that have room for improvement. There are a few parameters in the solution that are a bit unclear at our end as it's not understandable."

"The solution could improve the administration tools."

More Amazon RDS cons

"The monitoring part could be better."

"Google Cloud SQL needs to improve its support for high-end I/O operations. On-prem systems with high I/O capabilities perform better, as Google Cloud SQL takes more time to handle the same tasks."

"Google Cloud SQL needs to improve its support for high-end I/O operations."

"Google Cloud SQL still needs better connectivity to outside, existing data sources."

"The product's user interface could be more user-friendly to improve the overall user experience."

"When discussing media files, such as images and audio files, stored in Google Cloud, concerns about handling large amounts of data arise."

"I would appreciate more flexibility with specific extensions applicable to engines like PostgreSQL. This would enhance the capabilities of Google Cloud SQL."

"The performance compared to AWS is not as fast, and the technical support could be better as they don't have a dedicated team, but mostly AI handles the support now."

More Google Cloud SQL cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."

"The cost depends on the kind of instance we use."

"Amazon RDS could improve by reducing the price."

"The pricing of RDS is a little bit high compared to Microsoft... However, it is a good price compared to other solutions."

"The solution's pricing needs improvement."

"The platform pricing is on the higher side, but given its capabilities and ease of use, it remains competitive."

"The solution is expensive."

"Amazon RDS is cheaper compared to other tools."

More Amazon RDS pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is very much an important factor as to why we use this solution."

"While the platform’s pricing may be higher, it aligns with industry standards, considering the quality of service and features provided."

"The solution is affordable."

"You need to pay extra costs for backup and replication."

"It's really cheap. It wouldn't be more than, I believe it's around 50 euro per month for running a cloud SQL."

"It is not expensive, especially considering the significant reduction in database management time."

"From a financial perspective, Google Cloud SQL is on the cheaper side."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

14%

University

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

12%

University

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon RDS?

The product's installation phase is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon RDS?

The pricing for Amazon RDS is reasonable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Amazon RDS?

One key improvement would be adding support for multi-storage paradigms, including columnar support, as seen in TiDB. The serverless support with Aurora could also be enhanced. Additionally, having...

See all answers

What do you like most about Google Cloud SQL?

The implementation part of the product was easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud SQL?

The cost is expensive, especially for services like BigQuery, which charge based on query operations. We pay as we use, with no fixed cost.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Google Cloud SQL?

Google Cloud SQL needs to improve its support for high-end I/O operations. On-prem systems with high I/O capabilities perform better, as Google Cloud SQL takes more time to handle the same tasks. T...

See all answers

Comparisons

MongoDB Atlas vs Amazon RDS

Compared 28% of the time

Oracle Database as a Service vs Amazon RDS

Compared 17% of the time

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Amazon RDS

Compared 16% of the time

Google Cloud Spanner vs Amazon RDS

Compared 5% of the time

Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer vs Amazon RDS

Compared 4% of the time

More Amazon RDS Competitors

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 41% of the time

MongoDB Atlas vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 12% of the time

Oracle Database as a Service vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 6% of the time

Google Cloud Spanner vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 3% of the time

Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 2% of the time

More Google Cloud SQL Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Amazon RDS

April 2025

Download Amazon RDS product report

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud SQL

April 2025

Download Google Cloud SQL product report

Also Known As

RDS

No data available

Overview

Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) is a web service that makes it easier to set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud. It provides cost-efficient, resizeable capacity for an industry-standard relational database and manages common database administration tasks.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Google Cloud SQL is a fully-managed database service that makes it easy to set up, maintain, manage, and administer your relational PostgreSQL and MySQL databases in the cloud. Google Cloud SQL offers high performance, scalability, and convenience. Hosted on Google Cloud Platform, Cloud SQL provides a database infrastructure for applications running anywhere.

Google

Sample Customers

Edmodo

BeDataDriven, CodeFutures, Daffodil, GenieConnect, KiSSFLOW, LiveHive, SulAm_rica, Zync

Buyer's Guide

Amazon RDS vs. Google Cloud SQL

April 2025

Free Report: Amazon RDS vs. Google Cloud SQL

Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon RDS vs. Google Cloud SQL and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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